Earlier this week the Mountain Hockey League announced a four team playoff. They are calling it the Clear Cup. Prior to this the MHL announced that the top two teams would play in a game or series to determine a champion. I don’t think that ever materialized. The Clear Cup seems to be a more solid thing that will happen. There are ten teams in the league. Going with four in the playoffs is a good number. Each round in the Clear Cup will be a best of three series. The MHL has not announce a start date for the Clear Cup.

The Santa Rosa Growlers, the Reno Ice Raiders, the McCall Mountaineers, and the Breckenridge Vipers will be in the Clear Cup. There are still regular season games scheduled until the end of march. The Santa Rosa Growlers will be the number one seed in the tournament. They currently have a record of 11-6-2. The Reno Ice Raiders will be the number two seed. They currently have a record of 11-6-2. The McCall Mountaineers will be the number three seed. They currently have a record of 6-4-0. The Breckenridge Vipers will be the fourth seed. They currently have a record of 7-10-1. The Vail Yeti are currently in third place in the standing. I do not know why they will not be in the Clear Cup. They may have opted out.
There is some controversy with the Clear Cup. In 2022 the Reno Ice Raiders suspended interactions with the Santa Rosa Growlers. They did not play each other this season. The Ice Raiders may still not be interacting with the Santa Rosa Growlers. The Clear Cup may fall apart if the Ice Raiders and Growlers have to play each other and the Ice Raiders refuse to play them. The Ice Raiders have not said anything about the Clear Cup or their intentions if the Santa Rosa Growlers and Reno Ice Raiders both make it to the finals.





Leave a comment